In Spite of E-Commerce, Real World Still Matters

“Growth Builds on E-Commerce Trend” [Feb. 29] got it right: The rumors of the bricks-and-mortar world’s demise have indeed been greatly exaggerated. The opposite, in fact, is what we’re seeing.

The new Internet economy taking hold in L.A. is intensifying the region’s increasingly visible transformation from a strictly suburban environment to a much more urban one.

Internet executives from IBM, EToys and ECompanies drove this point home at a recent Westside Urban Forum breakfast, where all attested to two vital “dot-com” needs: more high-quality space for their rapidly growing firms and more market-rate housing close by.

Interestingly, all have chosen to locate their offices in the “coolest,” most exciting urban environments possible, because that’s where their young workers want to be. It thus appears that those of us who feared growth in e-business would cause flight from our cities can, thankfully, breathe a sigh of relief.

Just like people in any creative industry, those in the Internet world place a high premium on the stimulation they find in mixed-use neighborhoods such as downtown Santa Monica or Culver City--real places offering real human contact.

MOTT SMITH

Secretary of Development

Westside Urban Forum

Santa Monica